MIG-21 crashes in South Kashmir; pilot killed

A MIG-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed on Tuesday morning in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district killing the pilot.

“The MIG-21 crashed in an open area in south Kashmir’s Marhama village this morning. The pilot was killed in the crash,” a senior police officer said.

Senior police and IAF officers have reached the spot. The area was surrounded. 

The ill-fated fighter aircraft was on a routine recce, security sources said.

Pilot Raghu Bansi was killed in the crash, they said.

The MIG-21 had taken off from Technical Airport in Srinagar on Tuesday morning, the sources said.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed his condolences to the bereaved family of the pilot and suggested that the Centre address the defence procurement issue of the armed forces at the earliest.

"Not entirely disconnected from today's crash the new Govt needs to sort (out) defence procurement issue for Navy, Air Force & Army ASAP," he said on twitter.

Expressing grief over the death of the pilot in the crash, the chief minister said, "My condolences to the family, friends & colleagues of the pilot killed in the MIG crash today. May his soul rest in peace”.

With inputs from PTI